The Doobie Brothers - Stampede (Numbered 180g 45RPM Vinyl 2LP)

The Doobie Brothers Turn in Virtuosic Performances on Stampede: Band’s First Album with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter as an Official Member Features Collaborations with Curtis Mayfield, Ry Cooder, Bill Payne, and More

Hear the Eclectic 1975 Record in Reference Sound: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Plays with Clear Details, Dynamics, and Presence

1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

No slouches when it came to working in the studio on their first four albums, the Doobie Brothers take their musicianship and creativity up another notch or three on Stampede. The band’s first effort featuring ex-Steely Dan guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter as an official member, the 1975 set impresses with excellent dexterity, songwriting, depth, and eclecticism. Collaborations with more than a dozen renowned artists further attest to the record’s scope, weight, and cohesiveness. 

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP affords Stampede the luxurious room of a 45RPM version for the first time. Due to the wider grooves, the gold-certified album benefits from extraordinary soundstages, ultra-quiet backgrounds, big dynamic swings, and three-dimensional imaging. Everything sounds crisp and clear. 

Aural and spatial details that help make the group seemingly appear on a stage feet away from your listening position — voices that effortlessly rise and fall; notes that naturally form, carry, and decay; plucked bass lines you can follow from beginning to end; strategically placed accents; well-defined separation between the players — come across on this collectible reissue with striking immediacy, presence, and realism. 

The value of the Doobie Brothers pairing with producer Ted Templeman for the fourth consecutive time cannot be overstated. Templeman’s flair for the band’s chemistry, individual strengths, and joint aims is reflected in the on-point sonics and seamless ways he bridges such a diverse mix of sounds and personnel. Here, those facets include extensions of the orchestrations, horn parts, and variety of other accents the group first began exploring on its sophomore Toulouse Street. You’d likely never guess this album was recorded at five different studios.

Expanding on the sextet’s prior efforts, Stampede traverses a wellspring of styles while remaining tethered to a roots-based anchor. Western-themed rock, Southern blues, sliding R&B, and rousing boogie themes pepper the songs. Connoisseurs of fine-tuned playing can heed the pair of instrumentals — the intertwined acoustical gem "Slat Key Soquel Rag" and Baxter's classically styled solo piece "Précis." As far as the disparate aspects of virtuosity and looseness are concerned, few mid-70s albums have the balance of Stampede. 

Yet the release’s best quality might be the Doobie Brothers’ unwillingness to play it safe. In comparison to the multiple Top 20 single successes they enjoyed on the preceding The Captain Me and What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, Stampede contains just one hit, which is a cover, at that. Ignoring commercial trends or pressures, the band pursues directions both gritty and grand. 

The album-opening one-two punch of “Sweet Maxine” and “Neal’s Fandango" — the former rollicking to revved-up barrelhouse piano lines, snorting horns, and twin guitar harmonies; the latter a rave-up shaking to country-rock rhythms, pick-and-grin pedal-steel fills, and Patrick Simmons’ fast-talking deliveries — establishes a solid foundation. Irreplaceable contributions from Little Feat co-founder Bill Payne on piano, organ, keyboards, and electric piano ensure Stampede will not go quietly. 

Additional assistance from pros such as Curtis Mayfield, Ry Cooder, Victor Feldman, Maria Muldaur, Bobbye Hall Porter, Nick DeCaro, Harry Bluestone, and Conte and Pete Candoli — a lineup whose collective biographies stretch back to the big-band era and touch on an array of major movements that happened since — significantly adds to the record’s merit. Ditto the presence of a handful of Motown legends (Paul Riser, Sherlie Matthews) and a former Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner revue (Jessie Smith), who team up with the group on its vigorous rendition of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me).”

And whether it's Mayfield's brass and string arrangements on the funky "Music Man," replete with get-down grooves, smooth refrains, and Tom Johnston’s lively lead vocals; Cooder's jangling bottleneck guitar on the rollin’ and tumblin’ "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues," which shifts into an orchestral piece two-thirds of the way through; or Muldaur's passionate vocals on "I Cheat the Hangman," a prog-leaning excursion that contains symphonic and jazz elements, the Doobie Brothers leave it all on the proverbial table.

“Come and get it,” the Doobie Brothers beckon on “Music Man.” In terms of this stunning version of Stampede, we’d all do well to heed that advice.